Barnsley Building Society Conveyancing Panel Example Support Desk Enquires
from members of the public
I am progressing with the sale of my house and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are appointing a new property lawyer. The reason given is that Barnsley Building Society will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only work with certain lawyers?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My son is in the process of securing a house that has just been built with a home loan from Barnsley Building Society. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Whilst your website is a good idea there are many lawyers listed near Middlesbrough on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel. It would be a lot more helpful if you could recommend a specific firm on the Barnsley Building Society approved panel?
We are not in the business of recommending one firm above another as the right firm for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with local knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. Before you appoint your lawyer we advise you to speak to two or three of the firms listed to gain comfort as to which one is right for you..
The firm that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Hendon has suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I had to have a firm on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £175 for searches. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist
Completion of my remortgage has taken place with a loan from Barnsley Building Society. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about Barnsley Building Society. How does one go about formally complaining?
All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the Barnsley Building Society branches or the Customer Care Team at Barnsley Building Society head office. Ordinarily complaints to Barnsley Building Society are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
I have not been happy with the level or service received from my lawyer. Is there a Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel complaints department or do I complain directly to the law firm?
Complaining to Barnsley Building Society about their conveyancing panel is unlikely to yield much of a response. All solicitors and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. You can get information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barnsley Building Society panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
